Dear Ms. Levay,
I am writing you to share what a wonderful person you have working for you. We sailed on the Empress of the Seas departing July 29th from Philadelphia.We had a wonderful time, but once on the highway to go home we realized that we had left something very sentimental onboard the ship. My mother-in-law made my daughter a beautiful quilt and my daughter doesn’t go very many places without it. I knew if I wanted my daughter to sleep again, we had to find the quilt.
I was lucky enough to get in touch with Mr. Walt Thorn who took the time to contact several people on board the ship and find the quilt. If not for him, the quilt would have been thrown away or donated to charity. Mr. Thorn packaged up the quilt and sent it to us in Georgia. When it arrived, my daughter screamed with joy and went quickly to put it on her bed. Others that work for RCCL gave me the standard answer that they were sorry for my loss, but they could not help me. Mr. Thorn could have done the same, but was so dedicated to customer service that he went the extra mile.
I asked Mr. Thorn for his supervisor’s name, so that I could contact this person and tell them how wonderful a person he is. He gave me your email address. We would like to send a thank you note to Mr. Thorn, but are not sure what address to use. If you could email me back with an address to send a thank you note, I would appreciate it.
In short, please note that Mr. Thorn is someone that you want working for RCCL. He is wonderful.
Sincerely, Hope Campbell
Not much to improve. You may be the best kept secret in Philly. Clean, neat, well laid out, fast bus transport and baggage handling. Most of all you have really good people!! From the baggage handlers when we arrived, the gals in the parking lot, everyone in the terminal. Friendly, helpful, had nice smiles, and we felt they enjoyed what they were doing. You put NY and Ft. Lauderdale to shame. Keep up the good work. Tell your story to the public.
Greetings Walt and Brenda,
Not often have I had the opportunity to author a letter like this to an employer. It is with great pleasure that I am writing this letter to you.On behalf of all your employees in Philadelphia, I would like to thank Brenda and you for being such great people to work for. Throughout the season I had numerous conversations with my fellow employees about working for Cruise Services USA. Everyone that I spoke with expressed great joy and satisfaction working for you and disappointment that the season ended.
Usually some of the complaints that surface during part-time employment is payday. As you know, I along with many others were on the direct deposit system. It is a pleasure to be on that system, knowing that your check is going to be deposited on Friday and a follow up statement will arrive on Monday or Tuesday. As an FYI, throughout the season I did not hear of one question about a direct deposit check. Personally speaking the direct deposit pay was like clockwork and most importantly ALWAYS CORRECT.
As you know I did work with NCL along with other people. I must say that we always got paid but there was no system, some checks had two pay periods and some checks had one pay period. Sometimes they were hand delivered at the pier and sometimes mailed from Fla and sometimes mailed from Phila. It was payday roulette never knowing when you were actually going to get your check. From my conversations with some of my coworkers there in Phila, they were using that money to pay for rent, electricity, etc. Not to belabor the point, YOUR SYSTEM, DIRECT DEPOSIT IS THE BEST.
As I told you in the beginning of the season I will always give you The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. Your planning worked, your implementation worked, your systems worked, your employees worked, hopefully all this equaled good ratings and a NEW CONTACT. On behalf of the employees at Phila I would like to thank you for the opportunity to have worked for two great people and we all look forward to working for you again in the spring.
I, along with my fellow coworkers here in Phila, would like to wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.
Best Regards,
Bill
It is with great pleasure that I am writing this congratulatory letter to Celebrity Cruise Lines in regard to my employment with Walt and Brenda Thorn at Cruise Services USA.
I am a semi retired Wall Street Professional (25 years) who has worked in the Cruise Industry for the last 3 years in a part time capacity. I have worked for US Gateways, Destination Canada New England, and most recently Cruise Services USA. I have worked with ships in New York; The QE2, Holland America Line, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Carnival Cruise Lines and Norwegian Cruise Lines.
In Philadelphia I have worked with Celebrity, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Line and at the Port of Baltimore I have worked with Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Lines. In addition I have taken 9 cruises along with previously owning a small cruise-only travel agency.
With this experience in the cruise industry I would like to commend you on your selection for Cruise Services USA for the Guest Port Services in Philadelphia.
In the last 6 months of employment with Cruise Services USA, I have had the occasion to experience and observe the weekly operation of Cruise Services USA in Philadelphia for the Horizon and the Enchantment of the Seas. My work experience has been interesting and enjoyable. In addition I have had the pleasure of meeting many nice people embarking on their cruise vacation. My position with Cruise Services USA was to personally greet and wish a terrific cruise/vacation to every passenger prior to boarding the ship. Needless to say, I met may thousands of people throughout the summer from Senior Citizens to children.
Prior to the first embarkation, Cruise Services USA, trained the staff first with the Introduction of the Celebrity Experience. The staff was trained in quick and efficient check in of guests........I personally saw this as they were leaving the terminal. Numerous times the guests remarked to me how quickly they were check in and were able to board the ship.
In addition the staff was trained to handle problems and issues with compassion as if it were their problem on their vacation. Problems and issues were handled quickly and efficiently with professionalism and results. After the training the entire staff was excited to begin their new positions. Brenda Thorn mentioned one important gesture to the staff and that was that a SMILE and HELLO in addition to enthusiasm go a long way in adding to the Celebrity Cruise-Experience to the Guest. Each week as I greeted passengers prior to boarding the ship their experience was positive.
Having worked for three different Guest Services Companies I have noticed different levels of commitment to operations. Cruise Services USA demonstrated significant owner commitment by the principals being at the Cruise Terminal each and every week for both RCCL and Celebrity ships. The principals displayed hands on management. While in the terminal I would constantly see Brenda Thorn speaking with quests welcoming them to Celebrity Cruise Lines. The system for passenger flow was excellent, and from my observations, I noticed no major back ups in line. Brenda Thorn always had a fresh smile for each and every new guest and had that natural ability to answer each and every question. As I had mentioned before people would see me and remark what a smooth check in experience they had. I noticed on quite a few occasions the staff going above and beyond. It seemed like what ever the situation Brenda and Walt always had a back up plan.
In reviewing my experiences with several Guest Services Companies, I feel that Cruise Services USA is best managed to insure RCCL/Celebrity Cruise Lines the best guest experience by total guest satisfaction. I would also like to suggest that Philadelphia and Baltimore could/should be managed by the same ground handler. I worked both ports and there is synergy in a duel operation.
In conclusion, I would like to thank Celebrity Cruise Lines and Cruise Services USA for having had the opportunity for employment in Philadelphia. I look forward to the 2006 Cruise Season and RCCL's committment to our Port!
Best Regards,
William B. Miller